1. Field of The Invention
Applicant's invention relates to means and a method for safely carrying a large folding knife. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel folding knife holder and method that allow the user to safely carry a large folding knife in an accessible manner, and that allow the user to open the folding knife with one hand, as the folding knife is removed from the knife holder.
2. Background Information
Large folding knives are useful for many projects and in many occupations. Typically, a person who uses a large folding knife on a regular basis wishes to carry the knife in a convenient, accessible manner. Large folding knives, however, are usually too large to be comfortably carried in a pocket. Thus, sheaths or other carrying devices were developed to carry folding knives on a belt, either by a clip, or by a belt loop. The conventional folding knife holder is a vertical pouch-type sheath with a flap that covers the opening of the sheath. The sheath is generally made of molded leather and uses a snap fastener for the flap, or is made from lightweight, waterproof nylon, and uses a velcro closure for the flap.
Although this design of sheath allows a large folding knife to be safely carried, it has many shortcomings. First, the sheath is visually obtrusive, because it is designed to hang from a belt. Second, the sheath is only attached to the belt at the sheath's upper end, and is not securely attached to the body of the user. Thus, when a folding knife is carried in the sheath, any rapid movement by the user, such as walking or running, or any attempt by the user to rapidly remove the knife from the sheath will cause the sheath to move back and forth in an annoying manner.
Finally, and most importantly, removing a folding knife from a conventional knife sheath and opening the knife is a relatively time-consuming, multi-step process that requires a two-handed operation. The flap of the knife sheath must first be opened and held in an upright position, while the knife is simultaneously grasped and pulled from the sheath. After the knife is removed, the knife must be opened to a locked position. Because a folding knife is usually biased to a closed position until the knife blade is at least partially rotated from the handle, a user of a folding knife generally must use both hands to open the knife--one hand positioned on the knife handle and the other hand positioned to pivot the knife blade from the handle.
Several attempts have been made to develop a folding knife holder that allows a folding knife to be removed from the holder and simultaneously opened with only one hand. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,928, issued to Foster on Jul. 2, 1985, discloses a scabbard for a folding knife. The closed folding knife is inserted blade-side first into the scabbard in such a manner that pins or ridges in the scabbard nest within the thumb slit on the knife blade. As the folding knife is removed from the scabbard, the pins in the sheath engage the thumb slit of the knife blade, causing the knife blade to be pivoted into an open position. Although the invention disclosed in Foster is an improvement over a conventional sheath, because it allows one-handed operation, the means used in Foster to achieve this result are problematic. For example, to use the scabbard in Foster properly, the folding knife must have a sufficiently deep thumb slit in the blade. In addition, care must be taken to place the folding knife into the scabbard in a correct position to ensure that the pins engage with the thumb slit. Finally, to use the invention disclosed in Foster, the pins in the scabbard must be placed in such a manner as to always engage the thumb slit in the knife blade, thereby requiring that the scabbard be custom-made for each knife.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,577 issued to Moore on Dec. 31, 1985, discloses a knife holster for carrying a folding knife, in which the folding knife with the blade in an open position is inserted into the holster in an downward sliding motion. This action causes the upper margin of the knife blade to engage a catch portion in the holster. The knife is then pivoted to a substantially closed position in the holster. When the knife is removed from the holster, the catch portion of the holster causes the blade to pivot to an open position. The invention disclosed in Moore does allow one-handed operation, but requires that the knife be dangerously inserted into the holster with the blade in a partially open position. In addition, extra care must be taken to ensure that the knife is correctly positioned in the holster to engage the catch portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,309 issued to Gray on Jan. 22, 1985, also discloses a folding-knife holder that allows one-handed operation. The holder disclosed in Gray has flexible side walls that are compressed as the folding knife is inserted into the holder and then expand against the knife, thereby holding the knife into position. The knife is removed by grasping the outer edge of the blade and pivoting the blade to an open position, with the flexible side walls of the knife holder engaging the knife handle until the blade is in an open position. The holder disclosed in Gray does allow one-handed operation, but relies solely on flexible side walls for retention of the knife in the holder. These side walls will lose their elasticity over time, thereby failing to hold the knife in position.
In addition to the patents described above, the following patents also describe various holders for folding knives:
______________________________________ Patentee Patent Number ______________________________________ Morgan 4,426,779 Maihos 4,600,133 O'Dell 4,848,000 Reynolds 4,909,424 ______________________________________